Unintentionally Stolen
by Leo Andras
Summary: When 7 year old thief, Link decides to break into the castle, he happens across a chance meeting with Princess Zelda which will lead to a change in both of their lives. Full summary inside. AU. Zelink. R&R Please.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** I don't own the Legend of Zelda. I have posted this before, but I took it down for revision. The updates will be slow as I have college work to focus on, so please forgive any slow updates. I'm not one for Author's notes, so please just read it and see what you think. Enjoy and review please.

**Summary:** Link, a young Hylian living in the Hyrule city, raised by himself as an orphan on the streets, is forced to become a thief, living in the shadows of society, waiting for his next target. His overall goal: To survive. He has heard many tales on the food and riches the royal family own, living in a huge castle and having maids and butlers following their every whim. But one among the royal family does not enjoy all these things: The princess Zelda, she has always resented ordering them to do her work, and her wish was to play with the local children in the town. A 'chance' meeting between these two may be just what she needed. But will Link feel the same way about being caught sneaking around the castle?

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

For as long as he could remember, people have told him that there was only one way to survive in this world; if you want anything, you have to be willing to steal, lie and cheat. This is the way he has lived his life, heeding the words and wisdom of life's valuable lessons, to never get caught, to never back down, and above all else, never trust anyone, for they will stab you in the back. These words ran through his head as he crept through the shadows of the night, making no noise as he made his way down the alley, secretly following his target: a rich noble who was carrying enough rupees to feed a family of six for three whole days.

The noble walked with elegance and rich clothing swaying in the breeze, his shadow flickering in the lamplight of the alley as he walked. The boy slowly dragged his dagger from its sheath, an almost inaudible sound danced through the pungent air that stunk of stale beer and sex. He sped up so he was walking right behind the noble, using his own shadow against him. He lifted the dagger to his eye level, which was at the man's hip, and, with a cautious grip, lifted the bag of rupees at the man's side with his unoccupied hand. He slashed the string keeping the rupee bag to the man's belt and slunk once again to the shadows, where he turned to the exit of the alley, grinning in a satisfied manner when he heard:

"Wha... Where did my wallet go? I had it just a second ago..." The nobleman huffed in irritation, his voice fading into nothing, discarding his lost rupees as if they were nothing to him, which, the boy had no doubt, was true. All the nobles have whole treasuries full of rupees, gold, jewels and any number of things that brought high prices. He had always wanted to go to one of those treasuries and stuff his pockets with as much as they could carry, which was why he planned to hit the castle tonight. He was en route when he saw the noble; he couldn't resist. He tied the bag to his tattered belt using the left over string and made his way to the castle route.

The boy, named Link, ran through the city on light feet, his shoulder-length blonde hair blowing with the wind and his cobalt blue eyes scanning the land in front of him. He wore tattered clothing; a dark grey, long sleeved jumper, which showed signs of heavy use, dark brown trousers that were in the same state as the jumper, and brown boots that reached up to mid-shin before folding off. They suited his purpose; they were light and didn't cause much, if any, noise when moving.

"Finally, I can't wait to see all that food and treasure!" He spoke with barely contained excitement as he neared the gates. He saw that the gate was guarded by a sigle guard, while other guards stood at seemingly random spots around the front entrance. After a quick look around, he found a way up the cliff to his right, using some vines and got over the gate. He used the shadows once again to hide his presence and formulate another plan. He picked up some stones, thinking he may need them to distract the guards.

As it were, he managed to avoid all the guards by going through a blindside in their defence, which was remarkably big, then run across the fairly large field in front of the castle and climb up yet another wall to get over the final gate by exploiting the holes even further. He dropped down and, seeing the drawbridge as a 'no go' he dropped himself into the water of the moat quietly, so as not to arouse suspision from the guards, swimming to the far side of the path.

Climbing up, he noticed two things: one, there was a door that was likely locked and guarded on the other side, and two, there was a small water-way entrance that only a child would be able to fit through. He grinned, _'Good thing I'm 7.'_ was his thought as he approached the edge of the walkway to jump the short distance from the waterway. Link crawled through the small space with relative ease, following the tunnel as it curved right until he ended up in a courtyard, rich in the smell of grass and flowers of all kinds.

Link stood, amazed at the beauty of the garden in front of him, it was obviously well cared for, and as he looked further down he saw more guards patrolling. He nimbly dashed to a bush, taking cover behind it and peeking around the side.

He saw a single guard patrolling around a large hedge, cut to a perfect square, he memorised the simple pattern of patrol and made his move while the guard's back was turned, running right under his radar, only to make it to another section where there were two guards patrolling around two fountains. He did the same as with the first guard, only sneaking in the only blind side in between the two guards.

Next, there was a wooden construction in between two hedges with weeds growing all around it, and a single guard patrolling around a pole. Link quickly got past him and moved on to the next area. _'Just how big is this place?'_ He wondered as he took cover behind a wall.

The next area was a large monument of a Hylian stood in battle garb, with several smaller hylians reaching away from the main statue. Link stared in wonder at the magnificent piece of art from behind his cover before snapping his attention to the patrolling guards. _'Two of 'em. Heh, no problem.'_ He grinned confidently as he expertly weaved through their defences, mocking the incompetence of the guards as he went. Then he came to an area with one large bush in the middle surrounded byother bushes, two guards patrolled at different paces. He pulled out the stone and threw it to the left wall, drawing the attention of the guards so he could slip around the right side.

Cautiously he crept through a large archway leading to a small but beautiful garden; flowers of all kinds decorated the ground and were obviously well cared for. Link slowly moved through the open area, his eyes darting this way and that, keeping a look out for any sign of movement, however, there was none. He inspected the area; it was a closed square with three windows, he peeked through the one straight on. _'Must be the throne room... That's too heavily guarded, I have to find another way in.'_ So he looked through the others, both seeming clear of guards. Suddenly, he heard a rustle from behind him, but having nowhere to hide, he turned his head to gaze upon a pair of dazzling sky blue eyes, twinkling in the moonlight... And staring straight at him.

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><p><strong>AN** Sorry it's so short, but I felt that was a good place to stop. Anyway, how was it? Please tell me what you think, any improvements you think I could make, or anything of the like.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Link was frozen in place, staring into the equally shocked eyes of the girl who caught him sneaking about the castle; he never got caught before, and now he was probably going to be thrown in jail for trespassing. He ran several scenarios in his mind, none of them reaching an end he would like to see. His first thought was to run away, but she was stood in the only exit and would have plenty of time to call the guards on him, then, he thought about knocking her out, but that wouldn't erase the problem, she'd tell the guards and they would scour the city looking for him, he wouldn't be able to conduct his usual business.

Perhaps he could escape deeper into the castle, however, not only did he not know his way around, but the guards would undoubtedly be searching for him, making getting out again next to impossible. Of course the only things he could think of that would be less of a risk was to become friendly with her. But no matter what his decision, he had to act fast or she'd snap from her staring and do something he wouldn't like. The girl's face began to relax and her lips took the form of a warm smile.

"Hello, welcome to my private garden!" She greeted happily, which threw Link off, he'd expected something much worse than that. But he quickly snapped out of his shock, seeing this as a good opportunity.

"Er, hello..." He spoke quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know this was your garden..." He spoke quietly, she tilted her head curiously.

"But that's common knowledge to everyone in the castle." She informed him in a confused tone. Link cursed metally, he hadn't planned on this, getting caught by this girl wasn't going to be good for him, and he was left wondering just who she was anyway. "All the servants are told not to enter the princess' garden..." She spoke somewhat sadly. Link felt like he had just been slapped in the face, getting caught in the castle was bad enough, but getting caught at night in the princess' private garden which no one was allowed to enter, by said princess, that was a completely different story. But then it hit him.

"Um, excuse me for asking, princess, but why are you out here at such a late hour?" He questioned, trying his best to keep his composure and not bolt out of there, never to show his face in Hyrule again. She smiled once more, her eyes seeming to scan over him, as if seeing if he was worthy of telling a secret to. She nodded once and hurried over to him so she was only a foot from him, unknowingly making Link extremely uncomfortable.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But you have to promise to not tell anyone else!" She pleaded gently, to which Link nodded. Seemingly satisfied, she began to talk in a hushed voice. "I sometimes have these really bad dreams, ones where darkness falls over Hyrule and destroys it, I get so scared that I wake up and can't go back to sleep... But this garden is peaceful and I come here to calm down after the dreams." She wiped some tears away, obviously the recent dream was particularly bad, and he awkwardly laid his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. When she looked at him, he merely grinned.

His mind was racing a mile a minute, how was he going to get out of this situation; if anyone else were to come along and catch him here... Well, let's just say, he could clearly see his execution displayed in public to warn others as to what happens to those that sneak inside the castle. He involuntarily shivered at the thought, however, he failed to notice his hand still on the princess' shoulder. and only became aware of it when she asked:

"Are you cold?" Link's attention snapped back to the girl in front of him, he stared into her eyes for a few moments before registering her question. He pulled his hand back, hiding both of his hands behind his back and looking off to the left, where his only exit lay.

"N-no, I'm fine!" He stuttered nervously, becoming rather desperate towards finding a way out of this situation. She looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Then why did you shiver?" She asked curiously, tilting her head to the side and pouting slightly. Link felt heat rise to his face as he stammered out a reply.

"N-no reason... I-I'm just a little worried..." He spoke, mentally cursing himself. _'Damn it, why did I just say that? Next thing you know, I'll be telling her I'm a thief here to steal their valuables.'_ Her faced scrunched up into a confused expression.

"Why are you worried?" She questioned, pinning him to the spot with her sparkling, inquisitive gaze. He began to shift nervously, the heat in his face increasing to an almost uncomfortable level, he moved his eyes around, looking at everything but her, seemingly trying to escape her alluring eyes.

"W-well, I was worried about what would happen to me if I got caught here..." He told her in a small voice, staring desperately at the entrance, wishing to escape this horrible situation. He glanced back at the princess, only to find her face had lit up in a radiant smile.

"Don't worry about that, nobody's going to hurt you." He sighed in relief. "After all, the guards won't hurt a friend of the princess." His eyes shot to her face, shock registering in his mind.

"Friend?" He murmured. The princess pouted sadly and gazed at him with an imploring gaze.

"You don't want to be?" She looked to be on the verge of crying, so Link acted quickly; he didn't want to try to explain being found here with a crying princess to several armed, and probably angry, guards.

"I-it's not that, I would be honoured to be your friend. It's just a shock that you would want to be mine..." He told her in haste, bringing a dazzling smile to her face. He returned it with some hesitance. _'And there goes the valuable teachings of life... Never get caught? Hah! Out the window! Never back down? Gone like the wind! Never trust anyone? So long old friend! Damn it, this girl is dangerous, that smile of hers is just too much...'_ Link thought furiously. _'I have to get out of here...'_ He concluded with an air of uncertainty.

Then an idea hit him like a two tonne Goron rolling down down Death Mountain at high speed. _'Wait a minute... If I get friendly with the princess, I'll have more opportunities to steal things, plus I'll learn the interior of the castle to make for an easier entry and escape.'_ Mentally patting himself on the back, he returned to his current dilemma. He locked eyes with the princess, which turned out to be a bad idea; the moment he did, his mind went blank, all thoughts of escape and thievery flew out of his head to leave a peculiar emptiness inside his mind. Only one thought ran through his otherwise empty mind; _'She has pretty eyes...'_ She smiled warmly, giggling slightly at the change of expressions on Link's face, unknowingly sending Link further into his stupor.

"Excuse me for asking, but, what's your name?" She asked curiously, effectively snapping Link out of his thoughts, or lack thereof.

"Ah, my name's Link." He informed her somewhat distractedly. "What's yours?" She smiled brightly, curtsying politely.

"My name is Zelda. Zelda Carolyn Charlotte Hyrule." She told him happily, reaching down and grasping his hand, holding it with both hands. "Thank you for being my very first friend, Link!" She chirped, locking eyes with him and smiling radiantly. And, against the voice in his head telling him to get out of there, he smiled back brightly, curling his fingers around Zelda's hands, the voice in his head becoming nothing but a whisper he could barely hear.

"No." He said. "Thank _you_ for being _my_ very first friend!" He corrected her with a wide grin.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" A strong, feminine voice suddenly spoke, causing the two to jump apart, Link looked towards the sound to find a tall, agile figured woman with greying hair, blood red eyes and wearing a blue battle uniform. Zelda sighed.

"Impa, you startled me!" She complained, holding a hold over her heart to try to steady her racing heart-beat. The tall Sheikah woman smiled at her, turning her attention to Link.

"It's good that you've finally made a friend, Zelda, but may I ask why you are here, young lad?" She asked with the same smile on her face, but there was no disguising the underlying threat. Link gulped nervously. _'This is it! I'm gonna get executed for breaking into the castle with the intention to steal things! She'll take me away, put chains on my wrists and take me to the darkest dungeon before they kill me! That's what all the people in the town say! Actually, scratch that. That woman looks ready to kill me here and now.'_

"Come to think about it," Zelda pouted. "Why _are_ you here, Link?" She questioned. _'You mean you only thought of this NOW?'_ Link stared down at his feet dejectedly, sad that he'll lose his only friend so quickly and of course his impending doom. He sniffled as he thought desperately for a way to escape, not coming up with anything logically workable. He glanced back up to Impa to see her glaring at him harshly, sending his eyes back down to the ground determinedly. _'She's scary...'_ He thought as he felt himself begin to shake with fear. His thoughts jumbled together making it harder to think, causing him to panic more. "Link?" Zelda probed further. He sniffled once again, willing the ground to just open up and swallow him whole. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to keep them in.

"Come on, lad." Impa half-spoke, half-growled, making him jump from the harshness. He sniffled again as he tried vainly to keep the tears from falling. A crystalline drop fell from each of his eyes. He brought his arm up to wipe them away, swiping his sleeve over his eyes a few times before lowering his arm to his side.

"I... I..." He trailed off, causing Zelda to look at him worriedly. "I..."

"Out with it, lad!" Impa barked impatiently. The words died in his throat as he began trembling worse than before, the shaking becoming easily visible to both people watching him. Impa's eyes softened slightly. _'He's absolutely terrified...'_ She thought somewhat sympathetically. _'Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on him...'_ Both watched as he lifted his arm again to wipe the tears away, but they were coming thick and fast now, so he just cried into his arm, suppressing any sounds from escaping him, save his occasional sniffling. He didn't want to stay there any more, but he couldn't convince his legs to move, so he remained pinned to the spot. He tried talking again.

"I..." He trailed off as he couldn't make the words form. _'I wanna go home... I don't like it here... It's scary...'_ He thought as he tried to get himself to move. Zelda stared at him with a worried expression on her face, she walked over to him cautiously.

"Link?" She tried, only succeeding in getting him to shrink away from her. "Link, are you okay?" He shook his head as he began to hiccup, finding it harder to keep the sobs in. He glanced up at the only exit to the garden and decided to run. He quickly took off toward the arch, but as he was passing Impa, she grabbed his arm in a strong grip. He turned to her, tugging violently on his arm trying to get it loose. When Impa looked into Link's tear-filled face, she felt a twinge in her heart.

"Stop struggling, lad. I'll help you out of the castle." She spoke in a tender voice, causing him to stop moving, gazing confusedly up at the woman. She turned to the princess. "I'll be right back, princess." She said before picking Link up and disappearing with a bright flash. Sooner than Link realised, they were standing in the middle of the town, and by the time he turned around the woman was already gone. He walked through the town street, heading for an alley where a makeshift bed lay. He crept inside the bed made of sheets, tucking himself in and curling up. _'Home, sweet home...'_ He thought, somewhat bitterly.

Impa frowned at what she saw; she had stayed up on the rooftops of Hyrule Castle Town watching Link make his way home, if it could even be called that. She didn't like the sight of the small boy crawling into the makeshift bed, no doubt consisting of sheets he had to steal. She sighed remorsefully.

"Sweet dreams, young thief." She spoke with sadness, assured in her thoughts that no one else had ever wished him sweet dreams. She took one last look of the young boy before she disappeared in a flash.

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><p><strong>AN** So, what do you think? Please review, I'd love to hear your feedback, well, just so long as it's helpful. Till next time, see ya.


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